Lake Geneva

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I was almost sorry to leave Bern today because I really liked it and I can see why it is routinely voted one of the world's most livable cities. BTW, "Bern" is the German spelling while "Berne" is the French spelling. Today I drove south and visited the touristy, but interesting, towns around Gruyeres, Switzerland. My first stop was a factory where the famous cheese is made and I had an educational audioguide narrated by a cow(!) that described the entire process (see photo). The 77-lb wheels of cheese are salted and aged in racks for several months before they are sold (see photo). I enjoyed my cheese tour. The small town of Broc, next to Gruyeres, is the home of Cailler Chocolate, one of the original makers of Swiss chocolate treats (see photo). They have an entertaining tour and free samples at the end - all you can eat, in fact. I liked that tour, too! I drove on south to Lake Geneva and stopped for the night in the town of Montreux which, as I understand it, is famous for its annual music festival. The chief tourist attraction here is the Chateau de Chillon, a surprisingly well-preserved medieval castle (see photo). Lord Byron visited at one point and reputedly carved his name in one of the pillars in the cellar (see photo). As castles go, this is a pretty good one to visit, but I am more impressed with Lake Geneva. My hotel room looks west and I expect that I'll see a pretty sunset. In the meantime, I can enjoy the passing lake steamers (see photo).

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